Operación Northwoods

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El 13 de marzo de 1962, el general Lyman Lemnitzer le presentó a Robert McNamara un memorando de alto secreto, instando al presidente Kennedy a ordenar una variedad de incidentes impactantes para crear una justificación para invadir Cuba. Con el nombre en código Operación Northwoods, el memorando sugirió que la administración debería organizar una campaña terrorista en Miami y Washington que crearía repulsión internacional contra el gobierno de Fidel Castro.

El presidente John F. Kennedy convocó a Lyman Lemnitzer a la Oficina Oval el 16 de marzo de 1962, donde discutieron la Operación Northwoods. Kennedy rechazó la idea y tres meses después le dijo a Lemnitzer que lo trasladaban del Pentágono para convertirse en comandante de las fuerzas estadounidenses en Europa.

Los líderes militares no explicaron cómo la explosión de sus bombas se limitaría a herir, no matar, a sus víctimas desprevenidas y cómo se les podía asegurar que las únicas víctimas serían refugiados cubanos inocentes, y no transeúntes estadounidenses. Pero el ejército de Estados Unidos ha confiado demasiado en su precisión durante mucho tiempo.
No hay constancia de cómo McNamara respondió a esta cínica propuesta de sus principales oficiales militares cuando Lemnitzer se reunió con él ese martes por la tarde. Pero el siniestro plan, cuyo nombre en código era Operación Northwoods, no recibió mayor aprobación. Cuando le pregunté sobre Northwoods, McNamara dijo: "No tengo absolutamente ningún recuerdo de ello. Pero estoy seguro de que lo habría rechazado ... Realmente no puedo creer que alguien estuviera proponiendo actos tan provocativos en Miami. Qué estúpido". ! "
Como el presidente, McNamara miró a Lemnitzer con un desprecio apenas disfrazado. "La arrogancia de McNamara fue asombrosa", dijo un asistente de Lemnitzer. "Le dio muy poca atención al general Lemnitzer y lo trató como a un colegial. El general casi se puso firme cuando entró en la habitación. Todo era" Sí, señor "y" No, señor ". "
Lemnitzer incluso tuvo problemas con Jackie Kennedy, consciente de la moda. "Todos pensamos bien de él hasta que cometió el error de llegar a la Casa Blanca un sábado por la mañana con una chaqueta deportiva", comentó con desdén, subrayando cómo la clase y la cultura, no solo la política, dividían a la Casa Blanca de Kennedy del ejército.
Lemnitzer, un ideólogo de extrema derecha cuyo respaldo al adoctrinamiento paranoico de las tropas del ejército por parte del general Edwin Walker había levantado las sospechas del Comité de Relaciones Exteriores del senador William Fulbright, fue igualmente despectivo con la multitud de Kennedy. Pensaba que su administración "estaba paralizada no sólo por la inexperiencia sino también por la arrogancia derivada de la falta de reconocimiento de [sus] propias limitaciones ... El problema era simplemente que los civiles no aceptaban juicios militares".
El 16 de marzo, tres días después de su reunión con McNamara, Lemnitzer fue convocado por el presidente Kennedy a la Oficina Oval para una discusión sobre la estrategia hacia Cuba a la que también asistieron McCone, Bundy, Lansdale y Taylor. En un momento, el incontenible Lansdale comenzó a hablar, como de costumbre, sobre la mejora de las condiciones para la revuelta popular dentro de Cuba, y agregó que una vez que comenzara la gloriosa revolución anticastrista, "debemos estar listos para intervenir con las fuerzas estadounidenses, si es necesario". Esto provocó una reacción inmediata de Kennedy, siempre alerta después de Bahía de Cochinos por ser convertido en una bolsa de arena en una respuesta militar en Cuba. El grupo no estaba proponiendo que autorizara la intervención militar de Estados Unidos, ¿verdad? "No", Taylor y los demás se apresuraron a asegurarle de inmediato.

Pero Lemnitzer no pudo contenerse. Saltó en ese momento para ejecutar la Operación Northwoods hasta el asta de la bandera. El general le ahorró al presidente las tormentas de ideas más espantosas del plan, como hacer estallar a la gente en las calles de Miami y la capital de la nación y culpar a Castro. Pero informó a Kennedy que los jefes conjuntos "tenían planes para crear pretextos plausibles para usar la fuerza [contra Cuba], con los pretextos de ataques a aviones estadounidenses o una acción cubana en América Latina por la que tomaríamos represalias".
A Kennedy no le hizo gracia. Miró duramente a Lemnitzer y "dijo sin rodeos que no estábamos discutiendo el uso de la fuerza militar estadounidense", según las notas de Lansdale sobre la reunión. El presidente agregó con frialdad que Lemnitzer podría descubrir que no tenía suficientes divisiones para luchar en Cuba, si los soviéticos respondían a su táctica caribeña yendo a la guerra en Berlín o en otro lugar.
A pesar de la fría reacción del presidente, el presidente de los Jefes Conjuntos persistió en su campaña de guerra. Aproximadamente un mes después de la reunión en la Casa Blanca, Lemnitzer convocó a sus compañeros jefes de servicio en "el tanque", como se llamaba a la sala de conferencias de JCS. Bajo su dirección, redactaron un severo memorando para McNamara en el que insistía "en que el problema cubano se resuelva en un futuro próximo". Eso nunca se lograría esperando el levantamiento popular de cuento de hadas de Ed Lansdale, dejaba claro el memo. Sólo había una forma de hacer el trabajo: "El Estado Mayor Conjunto recomienda que Estados Unidos adopte una política nacional de intervención militar temprana en Cuba".
Lemnitzer estaba agotando la paciencia de Kennedy y McNamara. Después de una reunión del Consejo de Seguridad Nacional en junio, el presidente se llevó al general a un lado y le dijo que quería enviarlo a Europa para convertirse en el nuevo comandante supremo aliado de la OTAN. Kennedy reemplazaría a Lemnitzer como el mejor militar de la nación con el más dócil Max Taylor. Tendría un belicista menos para acosarlo por Cuba.

Podríamos fomentar atentados contra la vida de los refugiados cubanos en los Estados Unidos, incluso hasta el punto de causar heridas en casos que se darían a conocer ampliamente. La explosión de algunas bombas de plástico en lugares cuidadosamente elegidos, el arresto de agentes cubanos y la publicación de documentos preparados que justifiquen la participación cubana también ayudarían a proyectar la idea de un gobierno irresponsable.

Operación Northwoods y el complot para culpar a Castro del asesinato de JFK

Preste especial atención a los comentarios de Jim Garrison & # 8217 a partir de las 4:14 en el video. En el momento del juicio a Jim Garrison, mencionó un plan para asesinar a Fidel Castro, que cuando el presidente Kennedy se negó a ejecutar, él mismo fue asesinado.

Para citar la entrada de Wikipedia para la Operación Northwoods:

& # 8220La operación Northwoods fue una serie de propuestas de falsa bandera que se originaron dentro del gobierno de los Estados Unidos en 1962, pero fueron rechazadas por la administración Kennedy. [2] Las propuestas pedían que la Agencia Central de Inteligencia (CIA), u otros agentes, cometieran actos de terrorismo percibidos en ciudades estadounidenses y en otros lugares. Estos actos de terrorismo iban a ser imputados a Cuba con el fin de generar apoyo público para una guerra contra esa nación, que recientemente se había convertido en comunista bajo Fidel Castro. [3]
& # 8220 Una parte de la Operación Northwoods era & # 8220 desarrollar una campaña de terror comunista cubano en el área de Miami, en otras ciudades de Florida e incluso en Washington & # 8221. Las propuestas de la Operación Northwoods incluían secuestros y atentados con bombas seguidas de la introducción de pruebas falsas que implicarían al gobierno cubano. Declaró: El resultado deseado de la ejecución de este plan sería colocar a los Estados Unidos en la aparente posición de sufrir agravios defendibles de un gobierno temerario e irresponsable de Cuba y desarrollar una imagen internacional de una amenaza cubana a la paz en Occidente. Hemisferio. Varias otras propuestas se incluyeron dentro de la Operación Northwoods, incluidas acciones reales o simuladas contra varios objetivos militares y civiles de EE. UU. El plan fue elaborado por el Estado Mayor Conjunto, firmado por el presidente Lyman Lemnitzer y enviado al Secretario de Defensa. Aunque fue parte de la iniciativa anticomunista del Proyecto Cubano del gobierno de los Estados Unidos, la Operación Northwoods nunca fue aceptada oficialmente, fue autorizada por el Estado Mayor Conjunto, pero luego rechazada por el presidente John F. Kennedy. & # 8221

Si las propuestas de la Operación Northwoods incluían secuestros y bombardeos seguidos de la introducción de pruebas falsas que implicarían al gobierno cubano, ¿por qué no el asesinato del presidente Kennedy? ¿No provocaría eso a los estadounidenses a una guerra total con Cuba? Lo que se sabe es que Lee Harvey Oswald estaba empleado en el FBI en el momento de su muerte y que estaba advirtiendo al FBI que era un plan militante de la derecha para matar al presidente.

Clip de audio: La policía de Miami grabó a un informante del FBI que discutió el asesinato con Joseph Milteer, militante de ultraderecha del Klan, el 9 de noviembre de 1963.

El 24 de noviembre de 1963, dos días después del asesinato, Milteer relató que no tendrían que preocuparse de que atraparan a Lee Harvey Oswald porque & # 8220 no & # 8217t sabe nada & # 8221 y que el & # 8220 ala derecha & # 8221 está en el claro.

& # 8220El presidente Kennedy fue asesinado por hombres que buscaban lograr un cambio radical en nuestra política exterior, particularmente con respecto a Cuba. Usted recuerda que bajo el presidente Kennedy la Guerra Fría comenzó a descongelarse y hubo nuevos signos de un esfuerzo por parte de la Unión Soviética y de nosotros mismos por entendernos.
& # 8220En el mapa, esta [Cuba] parece ser simplemente una gran isla frente a la costa de Florida. Pero para muchos hombres significó mucho más que eso. En 1963 existía una gran variedad de intereses que no sólo deseaban una invasión de la Cuba de Castro apoyada por los estadounidenses, sino que daban por sentado que era inevitable.
& # 8220 En la mente de muchos hombres, esta isla representó un tremendo hito emocional, porque habían dirigido sus cursos hacia ella durante tanto tiempo y con tanta intensidad.
& # 8220En el otoño de 1962 ocurrió la Crisis de los Misiles Cubanos. Le siguió una nueva actitud pronunciada hacia Cuba por parte de Estados Unidos. Cuba, después de esto, dejó de ser considerada como enemiga y dejó de ser considerada un juego limpio para aquellos hombres que por una razón u otra centraron su atención en esta isla. Los nuevos signos de entendimiento entre Rusia y Estados Unidos continuaron desarrollándose.
En junio de 1963, el presidente Kennedy, dirigiéndose a los estudiantes de la American University en Washington, les dijo que respiramos el mismo aire que los rusos. Dijo que deberíamos tratar de vivir juntos en paz en esta Tierra. Bueno, en este punto algunos individuos transfirieron su atención hostil de Fidel Castro a John F. Kennedy. Planearon el asesinato del presidente & # 8217s, y lo planearon bien. & # 8221

¿Por qué no derrocar a Kennedy por medios encubiertos que no incluyen el asesinato? El objetivo era incitar a los estadounidenses a la guerra con Cuba. La única forma de lograrlo es si tuviera un conspirador que controlaría las fuerzas armadas, el FBI, la CIA y otras agencias federales y medios de comunicación una vez que se haya completado el asesinato. Solo había una persona que podía hacer eso, y ese era el vicepresidente Lyndon Baines Johnson. Johnson, en el momento del asesinato de Kennedy, no debía figurar en el boleto en & # 821764 y también estuvo implicado en el asesinato de un agente agrícola federal en Texas, Henry Marshall. Sus lazos con la mafia también se habían vuelto dolorosamente evidentes en un momento en que Robert F. Kennedy comenzó a tomar medidas enérgicas contra ellos. También es interesante notar que el nombre en clave del Servicio Secreto de LBJ era & # 8220Volunteer & # 8221 en el momento del asesinato.

Entonces, ¿por qué & # 8217t Johnson no invadió Cuba después de que hubo tal preponderancia de & # 8220evidencia & # 8221 implicando a Castro? Una muy buena razón: la KGB sabía que Johnson era el responsable y podía probarlo. Además, los estadounidenses, y el resto del mundo, se habían calmado por la gravedad de la crisis de los misiles cubanos, que de hecho nos llevó al borde de una guerra nuclear. Una llamada muy cercana con el submarino soviético B-59 demuestra lo cerca que estuvo éramos. El 29 de octubre de 1962, once destructores de la Armada de Estados Unidos y el portaaviones USS Randolf habían estado persiguiendo al submarino cerca de aguas cubanas, pero sin saber que Estados Unidos había estado lanzando cargas de profundidad de práctica para obligar al submarino a salir a la superficie para ser identificado. La tripulación soviética asumió que estaban siendo atacados. En ese momento, la tripulación soviética, habiendo hecho un gran esfuerzo por evadir a los perseguidores para monitorear cualquier tráfico de radio civil de los estadounidenses, no tenía idea de si había estallado una guerra. Tampoco había habido contacto desde Moscú durante días. El capitán del barco quería lanzar un torpedo nuclear, pero tal lanzamiento requería la decisión unánime de tres oficiales. Arkipov fue uno de ellos, y argumentó en contra de la idea hasta que finalmente prevaleció sobre los dos oficiales a favor de una huelga. La mayoría de los estadounidenses no tenían idea de que esto había ocurrido, por supuesto, pero el incidente demostró la mentalidad estúpida de los halcones de la guerra que luego intentarían invadir Cuba nuevamente, después de que Kennedy descongeló las relaciones con Cuba y la Unión Soviética. El memorando de la Operación Northwoods a continuación para el Secretario de Defensa, Robert MacNamara, fue escrito casi un año después de la desastrosa invasión de Bahía de Cochinos.

Un miembro de la Comisión Warren cree que Johnson & # 8220 podría encontrarse en algún lugar & # 8230 & # 8221

Hale Boggs, miembro de la Comisión Warren, llegó a creer que Johnson tenía un papel en el asesinato de JFK. Boggs había dicho, con respecto a la teoría de la bala única (es decir, la bala mágica) que tenía serias dudas al respecto. La implicación, por supuesto, es que Oswald no pudo haber actuado solo.

Audio LBJ y el Fiscal General Ramsey Clarke: El miembro de la Comisión Warren cree que Johnson & # 8220 podría encontrarse en algún lugar & # 8230 & # 8221

Johnson había estado siguiendo el caso Garrison desde el principio. Arriba hay una conversación que tuvo con el Fiscal General Ramsey Clark sobre el juicio, los medios de comunicación & # 8217 & # 8220 ictericia & # 8221, y la creencia de Hale Boggs & # 8217 de que el asesinato no solo fue una conspiración, sino que & # 8220 Johnson se pudo encontrar en en algún lugar & # 8230 & # 8221

En ese momento Johnson preguntó & # 8220 ¿A quién le dijo esto Hale? & # 8230¿Le dijo Hale al fiscal de distrito que podría encontrarme en algún lugar? & # 8221

Ramsey le da un nombre, pero es muy difícil de discernir debido a la mala calidad de la cinta. Como fue el caso de la vigilancia constante de Jim Garrison y cualquier figura pública que cuestionara la teoría del asesino solitario o la integridad de la Teoría de la Bala Mágica, agregó que el & # 8220FBI tenía muchos ojos y oídos con un tipo como Hale Boggs. & # 8221 Que el FBI estaría investigando a un miembro de la Comisión Warren que tenía la tarea de descubrir la verdad sobre el asesinato era revelador en sí mismo.

En verdad, el asesinato de Kennedy no debería ser llamado una conspiración, porque fue mucho más que eso. Fue un golpe de estado, o un derrocamiento, es decir, ejecutado por un pequeño grupo del estado existente, los militares, que depusieron a la administración Kennedy para reemplazarla por la administración Johnson. Debido a que Kennedy seguiría teniendo seguidores leales en la gran mayoría de las fuerzas armadas y la comunidad de inteligencia después de su muerte, era fundamental que el presidente entrante se aliara con los conspiradores para destituir, interrumpir o engañar a los investigadores federales y estatales. Johnson controlaría ahora a la CIA, el FBI, las fuerzas armadas restantes, etc. También tendría una cantidad increíble de control sobre los medios impresos y de radiodifusión, y no habría sido la primera vez. Ha sido controlado en un grado u otro desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Si quieres nombres, perderás el bosque por los árboles. El golpe nunca podría haber tenido lugar sin la aprobación y participación de Johnson.

Entonces, ¿dónde está la evidencia que apunta a Johnson? ¿Qué motivaría a Johnson a participar en la trama? Había muchas buenas razones. Tenía vínculos con la mafia en un momento en que el fiscal general Robert F. Kennedy estaba tomando medidas enérgicas contra ellos. Estuvo implicado en el asesinato del agente agrícola de Texas Henry Marshall. Estaba el asunto Billy Sol Estes. También iba a ser eliminado de la lista de candidatos en 1964, lo que acabaría efectivamente con sus ambiciones presidenciales y lo dejaría vulnerable al enjuiciamiento.

Operación Northwoods: una operación de bandera falsa propuesta para volar aviones contra edificios estadounidenses y culpar a Castro

El 13 de marzo de 1962, el Estado Mayor Conjunto propuso al presidente John F. Kennedy que Estados Unidos se atacara a sí mismo y culpara a Cuba. Esto es lo que se conoce como un evento de & ldquofalse flag & rdquo.

Esta propuesta llegó a pedido de la CIA y rsquos Edward Lansdale, quien estaba a cargo del proyecto anticastrista.

Kennedy lo descartó como una locura, que seguramente conduciría a la guerra. Esto lo puso en un curso de colisión fatal con las personas más poderosas del país.

Esta propuesta poco conocida, cuyo nombre en código es Operación Northwoods, es muy relevante en la actualidad. Proporciona un trasfondo crucial para la mentalidad asesina de aquellos a quienes Castro & mdash y Kennedy & mdash habían enfurecido. Además, sería tonto suponer que la naturaleza básica de las instituciones ha cambiado. La tentación de diseñar los llamados eventos de bandera falsa puede ser simplemente demasiado grande para resistir.

¿Northwoods fue una anomalía? Ciertamente no. Crear provocaciones para justificar la acción y mdash haciendo que parezca que solo estás reaccionando y mdash ha sido durante mucho tiempo una táctica de muchos gobiernos, a lo largo del tiempo y en todo el mundo.

Estados Unidos apenas ha sido inmune a la tentación de moldear eventos, opiniones y trayectorias históricas: una explosión en el acorazado estadounidense, The Maine, en el puerto de La Habana, puede haber sido diseñado para generar apoyo público para la toma de control estadounidense de Cuba Incidente del Golfo de Tonkin , un ataque atribuido a los norvietnamitas para justificar la ampliación del Conflicto de Vietnam Operación Gladio, en la que los ataques terroristas en Europa en la década de 1970 fueron atribuidos a izquierdistas pero diseñados por redes de derecha apoyadas por la inteligencia estadounidense. Y WhoWhatWhy ha cubierto la reciente uso de atrocidades falsificadas para justificar el derrocamiento de Muammar Qaddafi y la apropiación estratégica de esa valiosa propiedad inmobiliaria del norte de África.

Por lo tanto, no sorprende que muchos estadounidenses no confíen en su gobierno cuando les asegura que los ataques del 11 de septiembre los tomaron completamente desprevenidos. Dado que el pasado es un prólogo, haríamos bien en conocer los detalles de Northwoods.

Peter Dale Scott & mdash profesor de inglés en Berkeley, ex diplomático canadiense, poeta, autor de varios libros aclamados por la crítica sobre los acontecimientos cruciales de América & rsquos pasado reciente & mdash tiene una visión inusual de tales eventos. Aquí hay un breve extracto de su libro, & lsquoMáquina de guerra estadounidense: política profunda, la conexión mundial contra las drogas de la CIA y el camino hacia Afganistán& lsquo (Capítulo 9: & ldquo 9/11 y la tradición estadounidense de eventos profundos diseñados. & rdquo):

Operación Northwoods: Planificación de provocaciones y engaños contra Cuba

Sabemos que el Pentágono fue capaz de planear atrocidades como pretextos para la guerra a partir de la serie de documentos conocidos colectivamente como Proyecto Northwoods.

Northwoods fue una respuesta de JCS [Jefes de Estado Mayor Conjunto] a una solicitud de Edward Lansdale, quien en 1962 era jefe de operaciones del Proyecto Cuba anticastrista, también conocido como Operación Mangosta.

Lansdale había solicitado una descripción breve pero precisa de los pretextos que justificarían la intervención militar estadounidense en Cuba. (1) El documento de JCS, firmado por el jefe de JCS Lyman Lemnitzer, obligaba con una lista de posibilidades de falsa bandera como la siguiente:

Podríamos desarrollar una campaña terrorista cubana comunista en el área de Miami, en otras ciudades de Florida e incluso en Washington. La campaña de terror podría apuntar a los refugiados que buscan refugio en Estados Unidos. Podríamos hundir un barco lleno de cubanos en ruta a Florida (real o simulado). Podríamos fomentar atentados contra la vida de los refugiados cubanos en los Estados Unidos, incluso hasta el punto de causar heridas en casos que se darían a conocer ampliamente. La explosión de algunas bombas de plástico en lugares cuidadosamente elegidos, el arresto de agentes cubanos y la publicación de documentos preparados que corroboran la participación cubana, también ayudarían a proyectar la idea de un gobierno irresponsable.

Este era sólo uno de los nueve párrafos de un anexo que proponía un menú de (en sus palabras) posibles "provocación" y "engaño" contra Cuba.

[Ed: Para leer más sobre estos eventos de ingeniería propuestos, visite aquí.]

No es de extrañar que Lemnitzer remitiera un documento tan provocativo. Solo unos meses antes, en julio de 1961, se había unido al director de la CIA, Allen Dulles, para apoyar un plan para un ataque nuclear sorpresa contra la Unión Soviética, a fines de 1963, precedido por un período de intensas tensiones. (2)

El general de la Fuerza Aérea Leon Johnson le dijo más tarde al Consejo de Seguridad Nacional que el JCS estimaba que un ataque preventivo daría lugar a & ldquoal menos 140 millones de muertes en la URSS & rdquo. (3)

Un año más tarde, en mayo de 1963, otro documento de JCS continuó escribiendo sobre "la ingeniería de una provocación como pretexto para la invasión" y argumentó que "la ingeniería de una serie de provocaciones para justificar la intervención militar es factible y podría lograrse con los recursos disponibles". 4)

Este documento fue preparado por J-5, la Dirección de Planes y Políticas de la JCS, & ldquo en respuesta a una solicitud [del 25 de marzo de 1963] del Presidente de la JCS para proporcionar comentarios y recomendaciones sobre los requisitos y la conveniencia de fomentar una revuelta. en Cuba, considerando la ventaja de diseñar un incidente como una causa alternativa de invasión. & rdquo (5) Este presidente fue la elección de Kennedy para suceder a Lemnitzer, Maxwell Taylor.

(Generalmente se recuerda a Taylor como el defensor de una respuesta flexible en lugar de una "represalia equitativa" para hacer frente a las crisis internacionales. Pero también es el general que, desde 1961, se estaba reuniendo con otros halcones para conseguir que Kennedy utilizara la fuerza militar en ambos casos. Laos y Vietnam del Sur. & Rdquo (6) Significativamente, Taylor, como presidente de JCS en 1963, estaba promoviendo simultáneamente planes J-5 para ataques escalados, u Operaciones 34A, contra Vietnam del Norte).

Toda esta planificación cubana fue en apoyo de JCS OPLANS 312 (Ataque aéreo en Cuba) y 316 (Invasión de Cuba). Estos no eran ejercicios teóricos, sino planes operativos desarrollados activamente que el JCS estaba ansioso por ejecutar. (7)

(En general, no se tiene en cuenta que el bloqueo de Cuba, ahora en vigor durante casi medio siglo, comenzó como el primer paso en la planificación de OPLAN 316.) (8)

En apoyo de estos planes, J-5 sirvió como un taller para fabricar pretextos, o lo que podríamos llamar eventos de engaño profundo. Como escribió James G. Hershberg en 1990,

Una revisión de la planificación del Pentágono deja en claro que para un pequeño círculo de altos funcionarios civiles y militares, la idea de que Estados Unidos podría provocar deliberadamente eventos en Cuba que pudieran servir como pretexto para la intervención estadounidense representaba un posible curso de acción, frecuentemente invocado , en lugar de una difamación impensable que había surgido de las fantasías paranoicas de La Habana y Moscú. (9)

Al menos uno de los engaños de bandera falsa previstos en el documento de Northwoods & mdash & ldquoCuban & rsquo cargamentos de armas que serían encontrados, o interceptados, en la playa & rdquo de otro país & mdash puede haber sido implementado.

Venezuela anunció en noviembre de 1963 que había descubierto en una playa venezolana un alijo de armas cubanas, compuesto por rifles, ametralladoras y municiones.

Esto fue poco después de que John F. Kennedy le pidiera al director de la CIA, John McCone, pruebas de la intervención de Castro & rsquos en Venezuela & ldquot que podrían presentarse en un foro público, como la OEA [Organización de los Estados Americanos]. & Rdquo [Especialmente después del acuerdo con Jruschov de no invadir Cuba, Kennedy estaba obsesionado con detener una expansión más amplia del castrismo en América Latina. Sin embargo, su solicitud de pruebas no debe interpretarse como una invitación a fabricarlas.]

Los oficiales de la CIA llevaron uno de los rifles guardados en caché a los Kennedy, y Richard Helms informa que el presidente respondió, & ldquoBuen trabajo & rdquo (10). [Ed: Para obtener más información sobre este episodio, vaya aquí. ]

Referencias

Estado Mayor Conjunto, Memorando para el Secretario de Defensa, 13 de marzo de 1962 (Documento de Northwoods), 1, NARA # 202-10002-10404, 128, reproducido en Michael C. Ruppert, Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil (Isla Gabriola, BC: New Society Publishers, 2004), 595.
Notes on National Security Meeting, 20 de julio de 1961, en James K. Galbraith y Heather A. Purcell, & ldquoDid the U.S. Military Plan a Nuclear First Strike for 1963? & Rdquo American Prospect, Fall 1994, 88 cf. James W. Douglass, JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2008), 235.
Douglass, JFK y lo indecible, 239 & ndash40.
Estado Mayor Conjunto y Cursos de Acción Relacionados con Cuba (Caso II), Informe del J-5 al Estado Mayor Conjunto, 1 de mayo de 1963, NARA # 202-10002-10018, 21, http: // www. .maryferrell.org / mffweb / archive / viewer / showDoc.do? docId = 167 & amprelPageId = 21.
Estado Mayor Conjunto, 'Cursos de Acción Relacionados con Cuba (Caso II)', Informe del J-5 al Estado Mayor Conjunto, 1 de mayo de 1963, NARA # 202-10002-10018, 4.
Gareth Porter, Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005), 265, cf. 148.
g., Memorando del Estado Mayor Conjunto al Presidente Kennedy, 16 de noviembre de 1962, JCSM-910-62, http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/msc_cuba186.asp: & ldquoLos Jefes del Estado Mayor Conjunto están contentos informar que nuestras Fuerzas Armadas se encuentran en una posición óptima para ejecutar CINCLANT OPLANS 312-62 (Ataque Aéreo en Cuba) (1) y 316-62 (Invasión de Cuba). (2) No solo estamos listos para tomar cualquier acción que usted pueda ordenar en Cuba, también estamos en excelentes condiciones en todo el mundo para contrarrestar cualquier respuesta militar soviética a tal acción. & Rdquo
Telegrama del Cuartel General del Comandante en Jefe, Atlantic, al Cuartel General del Comandante en Jefe, Flota del Atlántico, 21 de septiembre de 1962, Relaciones Exteriores de los Estados Unidos, 1961 & ndash1963 [en adelante FRUS], vol. 10, 1082 y ndash83.
Hershberg, & ldquoBefore & lsquoThe Missiles of October, & rsquo & rdquo 242.
Stephen G. Rabe, The Most Dangerous Area in the World: John F. Kennedy Confronts Communist Revolution in Latin America (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1999), 107.

Análisis de la crisis de los misiles cubanos

Según diferentes recursos, la crisis de los misiles en Cuba se debió a dos razones diferentes. Por la primera razón, la principal razón de la crisis de los misiles en Cuba fue que el gobierno de Estados Unidos quería derrocar al régimen de Fidel Castro. En 1959, Castro llegó al poder para derrocar al régimen de Batista apoyado por el gobierno de Estados Unidos. Estados Unidos comenzó a derrocar al régimen de Castro con la ayuda de miembros de Organizaciones de Estados Americanos. Pero los miembros acaban de desacreditar al régimen de Castro. & Hellip

Operación Northwoods - Historia

ATAQUES TERRORISTAS FALSOS PLANEADOS POR EE. UU. CONTRA CIUDADANOS

PARA CREAR APOYO PARA LA GUERRA CUBANA

De BODY OF SECRETS, James Bamford, Doubleday, 2001, p.82 y siguientes: escaneado y editado por NY Transfer News.

. En opinión de [el presidente del Estado Mayor Conjunto] Lemnitzer, el país estaría mucho mejor si los generales pudieran hacerse cargo. [La leyenda del asesinato de JFK dice que algún general presidió la fea autopsia de JFK. --Mk]

Para aquellos oficiales militares que estaban sentados en la cerca, la fallida invasión de Bahía de Cochinos de la administración Kennedy fue la última gota. "El fiasco de Bahía de Cochinos rompió el dique", dijo un informe en ese momento. "El presidente Kennedy fue ridiculizado por los súper patriotas como un jefe 'sin salida'.

La extrema derecha se convirtió en fuente de propuestas nacidas de la frustración y presentadas en nombre del anticomunismo. . . Los comandantes en servicio activo fueron anfitriones de seminarios anticomunistas en sus bases y asistieron o se dirigieron a reuniones de la derecha en otros lugares ".

Aunque nadie en el Congreso podría haberlo sabido en ese momento, Lemnitzer y el Estado Mayor Conjunto se habían deslizado silenciosamente al límite.

Según documentos secretos y ocultos durante mucho tiempo (el enlace se abre en formato pdf) obtenidos para Body of Secrets, el Estado Mayor Conjunto elaboró y aprobó planes para lo que puede ser el plan más corrupto jamás creado por el gobierno de los EE. UU. En nombre del anticomunismo, propusieron lanzar una guerra secreta y sangrienta de terrorismo contra su propio país con el fin de engañar al público estadounidense para que apoyara una guerra mal concebida que pretendían lanzar contra Cuba.

Con el nombre en código Operación Northwoods, el plan, que contó con la aprobación por escrito del presidente y de todos los miembros del Estado Mayor Conjunto, pedía que se disparara a personas inocentes en las calles estadounidenses para que los barcos que transportaban a refugiados que huían de Cuba fueran hundidos en alta mar para una ola de terrorismo violento que se lanzará en Washington, DC, Miami y otros lugares.

La gente sería acusada de bombardeos que no cometieron, aviones serían secuestrados. Usando pruebas falsas, todo esto sería culpado a Castro, dando así a Lemnitzer y su camarilla la excusa, así como el respaldo público e internacional, que necesitaban para lanzar su guerra.

En realidad, la idea puede haber tenido su origen en el presidente Eisenhower en los últimos días de su administración. Con la Guerra Fría más caliente que nunca y el reciente escándalo U-2 fresco en la memoria del público, el viejo general quería salir con una victoria. Quería desesperadamente invadir Cuba en las semanas previas a la toma de posesión de Kennedy, de hecho, el 3 de enero le dijo a Lemnitzer y a otros ayudantes en su Sala de Gabinete que actuaría contra Castro antes de la toma de posesión si los cubanos le dieran una muy buena excusa.

Luego, con el tiempo cada vez más corto, Eisenhower planteó una idea. Si Castro no proporcionó esa excusa, tal vez, dijo, Estados Unidos "podría pensar en fabricar algo que sea generalmente aceptable". Lo que estaba sugiriendo era un pretexto para un bombardeo, un atentado, un acto de sabotaje llevado a cabo en secreto contra Estados Unidos por Estados Unidos. Su propósito sería justificar el inicio de una guerra. Fue una sugerencia peligrosa de un presidente desesperado.

Aunque tal guerra no tuvo lugar, la idea no pasó desapercibida para el general Lemnitzer. Pero él y sus colegas estaban frustrados por el hecho de que Kennedy no autorizara su plan, y enojados porque Castro no había proporcionado una excusa para invadir.

La gota que colmó el vaso pudo haber llegado durante una reunión en la Casa Blanca el 26 de febrero de 1962. Preocupado porque los diversos planes de acción encubiertos del general Lansdale bajo la Operación Mangosta simplemente se estaban volviendo más escandalosos y no iban a ninguna parte, Robert Kennedy le dijo que abandonara todos los esfuerzos anticastristas. En cambio, se ordenó a Lansdale que se concentrara durante los próximos tres meses estrictamente en recopilar inteligencia sobre Cuba. Fue una derrota humillante para Lansdale, un hombre más acostumbrado a los elogios que al desprecio.

Cuando los hermanos Kennedy parecieron "ablandarse" repentinamente con Castro, Lemnitzer vio que su oportunidad de invadir Cuba rápidamente se le escapaba. The attempts to provoke the Cuban public to revolt seemed dead and Castro, unfortunately, appeared to have no inclination to launch any attacks against Americans or their property Lemnitzer and the other Chiefs knew there was only one option left that would ensure their war.

They would have to trick the American public and world opinion into hating Cuba so much that they would not only go along, but would insist that he and his generals launch their war against Castro. "World opinion, and the United Nations forum," said a secret JCS document, "should be favorably affected by developing the international image of the Cuban government as rash and irresponsible, and as an alarming and unpredictable threat to the peace of the Western Hemisphere."

Operation Northwoods called for a war in which many patriotic Americans and innocent Cubans would die senseless deaths, all to satisfy the egos of twisted generals back in Washington, safe in their taxpayer financed homes and limousines.

One idea seriously considered involved the launch of John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth. On February 20,1962, Glenn was to lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on his historic journey. The flight was to carry the banner of America's virtues of truth, freedom, and democracy into orbit high over the planet. But Lemnitzer and his Chiefs had a different idea. They proposed to Lansdale that, should the rocket explode and kill Glenn, "the objective is to provide irrevocable proof that . . . the fault lies with the Communists et al Cuba [sic.]"

This would be accomplished, Lemnitzer continued, "by manufacturing various pieces of evidence which would prove electronic interference on the part of the Cubans." Thus, as NASA prepared to send the first American into space, the Joint Chiefs of Staff were preparing to use John Glenn's possible death as a pretext to launch a war.

Glenn lifted into history without mishap, leaving Lemnitzer and the Chiefs to begin devising new plots which they suggested be carried out "within the time frame of the next few months."

Among the actions recommended was "a series of well coordinated incidents to take place in and around" the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This included dressing "friendly" Cubans in Cuban military uniforms and then have them "start riots near the main gate of the base. Others would pretend to be saboteurs inside the base. Ammunition would be blown up, fires started, aircraft sabotaged, mortars fired at the base with damage to installations."

The suggested operations grew progressively more outrageous. Another called for an action similar to the infamous incident in February 1898 when an explosion aboard the battleship Maine in Havana harbor killed 266 U.S. sailors. Although the exact cause of the explosion remained undetermined, it sparked the Spanish-American War with Cuba.

[NOTE: According to Doug Reed in Controversy of Zion , when the Maine was raised, her plates were found to have been blown out by an inner explosion. JP ]

Incited by the deadly blast, more than one million men volunteered for duty. Lemnitzer and his generals came up with a similar plan. "We could blow up a U.S. ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba," they proposed "casualty lists in U.S. newspapers would cause a helpful wave of national indignation."

There seemed no limit to their fanaticism: "We could develop a Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington," they wrote. "The terror campaign could be pointed at Cuban refugees seeking haven in the United States.

We could sink a boatload of Cubans en route to Florida (real or simulated). . . . We could foster attempts on lives of Cuban refugees in the United States even to the extent of wounding in instances to be widely publicized."

Bombings were proposed, false arrests, hijackings:

*"Exploding a few plastic bombs in carefully chosen spots, the arrest of Cuban agents and the release of prepared documents substantiating Cuban involvement also would be helpful in projecting the idea of an irresponsible government."

*"Advantage can be taken of the sensitivity of the Dominican [Republic] Air Force to intrusions within their national air space. 'Cuban' B-26 or C-46 type aircraft could make cane burning raids at night. Soviet Bloc incendiaries could be found. This could be coupled with 'Cuban' messages to the Communist underground in the Dominican Republic and 'Cuban' shipments of arms which would be found, or intercepted, on the beach. Use of MiG type aircraft by U.S. pilots could provide additional provocation."

*"Hijacking attempts against civil air and surface craft could appear to continue as harassing measures condoned by the Government of Cuba."

Among the most elaborate schemes was to "create an incident which will demonstrate convincingly that a Cuban aircraft has attacked and shot down a chartered civil airliner en route from the United States to Jamaica, Guatemala, Panama or Venezuela. The destination would be chosen only to cause the flight plan route to cross Cuba. The passengers could be a group of college students off on a holiday or any grouping of persons with a common interest to support chartering a non-scheduled flight."

Lemnitzer and the Joint Chiefs worked out a complex deception:

An aircraft at Elgin AFB would be painted and numbered as an exact duplicate for a civil registered aircraft belonging to a CJA proprietary organization in the Miami area. At a designated time the duplicate would be substituted for the actual civil aircraft and would be loaded with the selected passengers, all boarded under carefully prepared aliases. The actual registered aircraft would be converted to a drone [a remotely controlled unmanned aircraft]. Take off times of the drone aircraft and the actual aircraft will be scheduled to allow a rendezvous south of Florida.

From the rendezvous point the passenger-carrying aircraft will descend to minimum altitude and go directly into an auxiliary field at Elgin AFB where arrangements will have been made to evacuate the passengers and return the aircraft to its original status. The drone aircraft meanwhile will continue to fly the filed flight plan. When over Cuba the drone will be transmitting on the international distress frequency a "May Day" message stating he is under attack by Cuban MiG aircraft.

The transmission will be interrupted by destruction of the aircraft, which will be triggered by radio signal. This will allow ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization radio stations in the Western Hemisphere to tell the U.S. what has happened to the aircraft instead of the U.S. trying to "sell" the incident.

Finally, there was a plan to "make it appear that Communist Cuban MiGs have destroyed a USAF aircraft over international waters in an unprovoked attack." It was a particularly believable operation given the decade of shoot downs that had just taken place.

In the final sentence of his letter to Secretary McNamara recommending the operations, Lemnitzer made a grab for even more power asking that the Joint Chiefs be placed in charge of carrying out Operation Northwoods and the invasion. "It is recommended," he wrote, "that this responsibility for both oven and covert military operations be assigned to the Joint Chiefs of Staff."

At 2:30 on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 13, 1962, Lemnitzer went over last-minute details of Operation Northwoods with his covert action chief, Brigadier General William H. Craig, and signed the document. He then went to a "special meeting" in McNamara's office. An hour later he met with Kennedy's military representative, General Maxwell Taylor.

What happened during those meetings is unknown. But three days later, President Kennedy told Lemnitzer that there was virtually no possibility that the U.S. would ever use overt military force in Cuba.

Undeterred, Lemnitzer and the Chiefs persisted, virtually to the point of demanding that they be given authority to invade and take over Cuba. About a month after submitting Operation Northwoods, they met the "tank," as the JCS conference room was called, and agreed on the wording of a tough memorandum to McNamara. They wrote:

"The Joint Chiefs of Staff believe that the Cuban problem must be solved in the near future.
"Further, they see no prospect of early success in overthrowing the present communist regime either as a result of internal uprising or external political, economic or psychological pressures. Accordingly they believe that military intervention by the United States will be required to overthrow the present communist regime."

Lemnitzer was virtually rabid in his hatred of Communism in general and Castro in particular "The Joint Chiefs of Staff believe that the United States can undertake military intervention in Cuba without risk of general war" he continued. "They also believe that the intervention can be accomplished rapidly enough to minimize communist opportunities for solicitation of UN action." However what Lemnitzer was suggesting was not freeing the Cuban people, who were largely in support of Castro, but imprisoning them in a U.S. military-controlled police state. "Forces would assure rapid essential military control of Cuba," he wrote. "Continued police action would be required."

Concluding, Lemnitzer did not mince words: "[T]he Joint Chiefs of Staff recommend that a national policy of early military intervention in Cuba be adopted by the United States. They also recommend that such intervention be undertaken as soon as possible and preferably before the release of National Guard and Reserve forces presently on active duty."

By then McNamara had virtually no confidence in his military chief and was rejecting nearly every proposal the general sent to him. The rejections became so routine, said one of Lemnitzer's former staff officers, that the staffer told the general that the situation was putting the military in an "embarrassing rut." But Lemnitzer replied, "I am the senior military office--it's my job to state what I believe and it's his [McNamara's] job to approve or disapprove." "McNamara's arrogance was astonishing," said Lemnitzer's aide, who knew nothing of Operation Northwoods. "He gave General Lemnitzer very short shrift and treated him like a schoolboy. The general almost stood at attention when he came into the room. Everything was 'Yes, sir' and 'No, sir.'

Within months, Lemnitzer was denied a second term as JCS chairman and transferred to Europe as chief of NATO. Years later President Gerald Ford appointed Lemnitzer, a darling of the Republican right, to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. Lemnitzer's Cuba chief, Brigadier General Craig, was also transferred. Promoted to major general, he spent three years as chief of the Army Security Agency, NSA's military arm.

Because of the secrecy and illegality of Operation Northwoods, all details remained hidden for forty years. Lemnitzer may have thought that all copies of the relevant documents had been destroyed he was not one to leave compromising material lying around. Following the Bay of Pigs debacle, for example, he ordered Brigadier General David W Gray, Craig's predecessor as chief of the Cuba project within the JCS, to destroy all his notes concerning Joint Chiefs actions and discussions during that period. Gray's meticulous notes were the only detailed official records of what happened within the JCS during that time. According to Gray, Lemnitzer feared a congressional investigation and therefore wanted any incriminating evidence destroyed.

With the evidence destroyed, Lemnitzer felt free to lie to Congress. When asked, during secret hearings before a Senate committee, if he knew of any Pentagon plans for a direct invasion of Cuba he said he did not. Yet detailed JCS invasion plans had been drawn up even before Kennedy was inaugurated. And additional plans had been developed since.

The consummate planner and man of details also became evasive, suddenly encountering great difficulty in recalling key aspects of the operation, as if he had been out of the country during the period. It was a sorry spectacle. Senator Gore called for Lemnitzer to be fired. "We need a shake up of the Joint Chiefs of Staff" he said. "We direly need a new chairman, as well as new members." No one had any idea of Operation Northwoods.

Because so many documents were destroyed, it is difficult to determine how many senior officials were aware of Operation Northwoods. As has been described, the document was signed and fully approved by Lemnitzer and the rest of the Joint Chiefs and addressed to the Secretary of Defense for his signature. Whether it went beyond McNamara to the president and the attorney general is not known.

Even after Lemnitzer lost his job, the Joint Chiefs kept planning "pretext" operations at least into 1963. Among their proposals was a deliberately create a war between Cuba and any of a number of .n American neighbors.

This would give the United States military an excuse to come in on the side of Cuba's adversary and get rid of "A contrived 'Cuban' attack on an OAS [Organization of Americas] member could be set up," said one proposal, "and the attacked state could be urged to 'take measures of self-defense and request ice from the U.S. and OAS the U.S. could almost certainly obtain necessary two-thirds support among OAS members for collective action against Cuba."

Among the nations they suggested that the United States secretly were Jamaica and Trinidad-Tobago. Both were members of the Commonwealth thus, by secretly attacking them and then blaming Cuba, the United States could lure England into the war Castro. The report noted, "Any of the contrived situations de above are inherently, extremely risky in our democratic system in which security can be maintained, after the fact, with very great difficulty.

If the decision should be made to set up a contrived situation it be one in which participation by U.S. personnel is limited only to the most highly trusted covert personnel. This suggests the infeasibility of the use of military units for any aspect of the contrived situation."

The report even suggested secretly paying someone in the Castro government to attack the United States: "The only area remaining for ration then would be to bribe one of Castro's subordinate commanders to initiate an attack on [the U.S. naval base at] Guantanamo." The act suggested--bribing a foreign nation to launch a violent attack American military installation--was treason.

In May 1963, Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul H. Nitze sent a the White House proposing "a possible scenario whereby an attack on a United States reconnaissance aircraft could be exploited toward the end of effecting the removal of the Castro regime."

In the event Cuba attacked a U-2, the plan proposed sending in additional American pilots, this time on dangerous, unnecessary low-level reconnaissance missions with the expectation that they would also be shot down, thus provoking a war "[T]he U.S. could undertake various measures designed to stimulate the Cubans to provoke a new incident," said the plan. Nitze, however, did not volunteer to be one of the pilots.

One idea involved sending fighters across the island on "harassing reconnaissance" and "show-off" missions "flaunting our freedom of action, hoping to stir the Cuban military to action." "Thus," said the plan, "depending above all on whether the Cubans were or could be made to be trigger-happy, the development of the initial downing of a reconnaissance plane could lead at best to the elimination of Castro, perhaps to the removal of Soviet troops and the installation of ground inspection in Cuba, or at the least to our demonstration of firmness on reconnaissance." About a month later, a low-level flight was made across Cuba, but unfortunately for the Pentagon, instead of bullets it produced only a protest.

Lemnitzer was a dangerous-perhaps even unbalanced-right-wing extremist in an extraordinarily sensitive position during a critical period. But Operation Northwoods also had the support of every single member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and even senior Pentagon official Paul Nitze argued in favor of provoking a phony war with Cuba.

The fact that the most senior members of all the services and the Pentagon could be so out of touch with reality and the meaning of democracy would be hidden for four decades.

In retrospect, the documents offer new insight into the thinking of the military's star-studded leadership. Although they never succeeded in launching America into a phony war with Cuba, they may have done so with Vietnam. More than 50,000 Americans and more than 2 million Vietnamese were eventually killed in that war.

It has long been suspected that the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident-the spark that led to America's long war in Vietnam-was largely staged or provoked by U.S. officials in order to build up congressional and public support for American involvement. Over the years, serious questions have been raised about the alleged attack by North Vietnamese patrol boats on two American destroyers in the Gulf But defenders of the Pentagon have always denied such charges, arguing that senior officials would never engage in such deceit.

Now, however, in light of the Operation Northwoods documents, it at deceiving the public and trumping up wars for Americans to fight and die in was standard, approved policy at the highest levels of the Pentagon. In fact, the Gulf of Tonkin seems right out of the Operation Northwoods playbook: "We could blow up a U.S. ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba . . . casualty lists in U.S. newspapers cause a helpful wave of indignation."

One need only replace "Guantanamo Bay" with "Tonkin Gulf," and "Cuba" with "North Vietnam" and the Gulf of Tonkin incident may or may not have been stage-managed, but the senior Pentagon leadership at the time was clearly capable of such deceit.

"The public has a duty to watch its Government closely and keep it on the right track." --Lieutenant Gen. Kenneth A. Minihan, USAF, Director, NSA, _NSA Newsletter_, June 1997

Operation Northwoods (Cold War Mystery!)

MYS151: In 1962, the Joint Chiefs of Staff sent Operation Northwoods to JFK as a daring, covert plan to stop a potential Soviet invasion. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli discuss this now declassified plan, the shocking series of secret actions it proposed, and Kennedy’s response.

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History: Operation Northwoods was some crazy shit

I'm not american, so perhaps you'd excuse my ignorance, but this seems like a conspiracy theory except it's actually real.

The US government planned domestic terror acts in order to blame it on Cuba and justify a war. In the end it was rejected by JFK but the fact that this was an actual plan is mindblowing. Perhaps it's no wonder there are so many conspiracy theories, when there are real actual conspiracies too.

Guzim

Operation Northwoods - Wikipedia

I'm not american, so perhaps you'd excuse my ignorance, but this seems like a conspiracy theory except it's actually real.

Operation Northwoods - History

Friendly Fire
Book: U.S. Military Drafted Plans to Terrorize U.S. Cities to Provoke War With Cuba
By David Ruppe

N E W Y O R K, May 1 — In the early 1960s, America's top military leaders reportedly
drafted plans to kill innocent people and commit acts of terrorism in U.S. cities to create
public support for a war against Cuba.
Code named Operation Northwoods, the plans reportedly included the possible
assassination of Cuban ï¿½migrï¿½s, sinking boats of Cuban refugees on the high seas,
hijacking planes, blowing up a U.S. ship, and even orchestrating violent terrorism in U.S.
cities.
The plans were developed as ways to trick the American public and the international
community into supporting a war to oust Cuba's then new leader, communist Fidel Castro.
America's top military brass even contemplated causing U.S. military casualties, writing:
"We could blow up a U.S. ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba," and, "casualty lists
in U.S. newspapers would cause a helpful wave of national indignation."
Details of the plans are described in Body of Secrets (Doubleday), a new book by
investigative reporter James Bamford about the history of America's largest spy agency,
the National Security Agency. However, the plans were not connected to the agency, he
notes.
The plans had the written approval of all of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and were presented to
President Kennedy's defense secretary, Robert McNamara, in March 1962. But they
apparently were rejected by the civilian leadership and have gone undisclosed for nearly 40
years.
"These were Joint Chiefs of Staff documents. The reason these were held secret for so
long is the Joint Chiefs never wanted to give these up because they were so embarrassing,"
Bamford told ABCNEWS.com.
"The whole point of a democracy is to have leaders responding to the public will, and here
this is the complete reverse, the military trying to trick the American people into a war that
they want but that nobody else wants."
Gunning for War
The documents show "the Joint Chiefs of Staff drew up and approved plans for what may
be the most corrupt plan ever created by the U.S. government," writes Bamford.
The Joint Chiefs even proposed using the potential death of astronaut John Glenn during
the first attempt to put an American into orbit as a false pretext for war with Cuba, the
documents show.
Should the rocket explode and kill Glenn, they wrote, "the objective is to provide
irrevocable proof … that the fault lies with the Communists et all Cuba [sic]."
The plans were motivated by an intense desire among senior military leaders to depose
Castro, who seized power in 1959 to become the first communist leader in the Western
Hemisphere — only 90 miles from U.S. shores.
The earlier CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles had been a
disastrous failure, in which the military was not allowed to provide firepower.The military
leaders now wanted a shot at it.
"The whole thing was so bizarre," says Bamford, noting public and international support
would be needed for an invasion, but apparently neither the American public, nor the
Cuban public, wanted to see U.S. troops deployed to drive out Castro.
Reflecting this, the U.S. plan called for establishing prolonged military — not democratic
— control over the island nation after the invasion.
"That's what we're supposed to be freeing them from," Bamford says. "The only way we
would have succeeded is by doing exactly what the Russians were doing all over the
world, by imposing a government by tyranny, basically what we were accusing Castro
himself of doing."
'Over the Edge'
The Joint Chiefs at the time were headed by Eisenhower appointee Army Gen. Lyman L.
Lemnitzer, who, with the signed plans in hand made a pitch to McNamara on March 13,
1962, recommending Operation Northwoods be run by the military.
Whether the Joint Chiefs' plans were rejected by McNamara in the meeting is not clear.
But three days later, President Kennedy told Lemnitzer directly there was virtually no
possibility of ever using overt force to take Cuba, Bamford reports. Within months,
Lemnitzer would be denied another term as chairman and transferred to another job.
The secret plans came at a time when there was distrust in the military leadership about
their civilian leadership, with leaders in the Kennedy administration viewed as too liberal,
insufficiently experienced and soft on communism. At the same time, however, there real
were concerns in American society about their military overstepping its bounds.
There were reports U.S. military leaders had encouraged their subordinates to vote
conservative during the election.
And at least two popular books were published focusing on a right-wing military
leadership pushing the limits against government policy of the day. The Senate Foreign
Relations Committee published its own report on right-wing extremism in the military,
warning a "considerable danger" in the "education and propaganda activities of military
personnel" had been uncovered. The committee even called for an examination of any ties
between Lemnitzer and right-wing groups. But Congress didn't get wind of Northwoods,
says Bamford.
"Although no one in Congress could have known at the time," he writes, "Lemnitzer and
the Joint Chiefs had quietly slipped over the edge."
Even after Lemnitzer was gone, he writes, the Joint Chiefs continued to plan "pretext"
operations at least through 1963.
One idea was to create a war between Cuba and another Latin American country so that
the United States could intervene. Another was to pay someone in the Castro government
to attack U.S. forces at the Guantanamo naval base — an act, which Bamford notes,
would have amounted to treason. And another was to fly low level U-2 flights over Cuba,
with the intention of having one shot down as a pretext for a war.
"There really was a worry at the time about the military going off crazy and they did, but
they never succeeded, but it wasn't for lack of trying," he says.
After 40 Years
Ironically, the documents came to light, says Bamford, in part because of the 1992 Oliver
Stone film JFK, which examined the possibility of a conspiracy behind the assassination of
President Kennedy.
As public interest in the assassination swelled after JFK's release, Congress passed a law
designed to increase the public's access to government records related to the assassination.
The author says a friend on the board tipped him off to the documents.
Afraid of a congressional investigation, Lemnitzer had ordered all Joint Chiefs documents
related to the Bay of Pigs destroyed, says Bamford. But somehow, these remained.
"The scary thing is none of this stuff comes out until 40 years after," says Bamford

"WAR IS A RACKET." MAJOR GENERAL SMEDLEY BUTLER, USMC.

A highly revealing ABC news article < http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=92662> describes plans for government-sponsored terrorism right here in America:

"In the early 1960s, America's top military leaders drafted plans to kill innocent people and commit acts of terrorism in U.S. cities to create public support for a war against Cuba."

The article goes on to reveal that the plans, code-named Operation Northwoods, were approved in writing by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and endorsed by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. Yes, it's a fact that our own military leaders proposed we secretly blow up an American ship and hijack US planes as a false pretext for war!

To access 181 pages of declassified U.S. military documents on the official website of the National Archives and Records Administration which reveal plans of the top U.S. generals to sponsor terrorism on U.S. soil, go here:

To read the 15 most revealing pages of these documents posted on the National Security Archive of George Washington University, see:

Note that these government documents were approved in writing by the Joint Chiefs of Staff - the top generals of each branch of the US armed forces - and submitted to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in 1962. The only reason these plans were not implemented is that they were rejected by the Kennedy administration. Had the administration approved, these secret manipulations would almost certainly have fooled the American public into supporting war. These plans for government- sponsored terrorism were classified top secret so that the American public would never know how it was being manipulated. They came to light only because of a Freedom of Information Act request in the late 1990s. Had the plans been used, they would have been given operational status, and thus would never have been released to the public in accordance with secrecy laws.

Below are key passages quoted directly from the Operation Northwoods documents, which you can verify at the above links. Page numbers are listed to assist in finding the quotes in the original documents. As you read, we invite you to then ask yourself, is it beyond comprehension that this same kind of thinking and planning could have led to 9/11? More information on what you can do is given below these quotes.

Excerpts from Operation Northwoods Documents

Page 1 of File (Memorandum)

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

Subject: Justification for US Military Intervention in Cuba

The Joint Chiefs of Staff have considered the attached Memorandum for the Chief of Operations, Cuba Project, which responds to a request of that office for brief but precise description of pretexts which could provide justification for US military intervention in Cuba. It is assumed that a single agency will be given the primary responsibility for developing military and para- military aspects of the basic plan. It is recommended that this responsibility for both overt and covert military operations be assigned the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Page 5 of File (page 2 of Joint Chiefs report)

World opinion, and the United Nations forum should be favorably affected by developing the international image of the Cuban government as rash and irresponsible, and as an alarming and unpredictable threat to the peace of the Western Hemisphere.

Page 8 of File (page 5 of Joint Chiefs report)

This plan . should be developed to focus all efforts on a specific ultimate objective which would provide adequate justification for US military intervention. Such a plan would enable a logical build-up of incidents to be combined with other seemingly unrelated events to camouflage the ultimate objective.

Page 10-11 of File (page 7-8 of Joint Chiefs report)

A series of well coordinated incidents will be planned to take place in and around Guantanamo to give genuine appearance of being done by hostile Cuban forces.

(1) Start rumors (many). Use clandestine radio.

(2) Land friendly Cubans in uniform "over-the-fence" to stage attack on base.

(3) Capture Cuban (friendly) saboteurs inside the base.

(4) Start riots near the base main gate (friendly Cubans).

(5) Blow up ammunition inside the base: start fires.

(6) Burn aircraft on air base (sabotage).

(7) Lob mortar shells from outside of base into base.

(8) Capture assault teams approaching from the sea or vicinity of Guantanamo City.

(9) Capture militia group which storms base.

(10) Sabotage ship in harbor large fires - naphthalene.

(11) Sink ship near harbor entrance. Conduct funerals for mock-victims.

We could blow up a US ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba. Casualty lists in US newspapers would cause a helpful wave of national indignation.

We could develop a Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington.

Page 12 of File (page 9 of Joint Chiefs report)

Use of [Soviet] MIG type aircraft by US pilots could provide additional provocation. Attacks on surface shipping and destruction of US military drone aircraft by MIG type planes would be useful as complementary actions. Reasonable copies of the MIG could be produced from US resources in about three months.

Page 13 of File (page 10 of Joint Chiefs report)

Hijacking attempts against civil air and surface craft should appear to continue as harassing measures condoned by the government of Cuba.

It is possible to create an incident which will demonstrate convincingly that a Cuban aircraft has attacked and shot down a chartered civil airliner enroute from the United States. The destination would be chosen only to cause the flight plan to cross Cuba. The passengers could be a group of college students off on a holiday.

An aircraft at Eglin AFB would be painted and numbered as an exact duplicate for a civil registered aircraft belonging to a CIA proprietary organization in the Miami area. At the designated time the duplicate would be substituted for the actual civil aircraft and would be loaded with selected passengers, all boarded under carefully prepared aliases. The actual aircraft would be converted to a drone.

The drone aircraft and the actual aircraft will be scheduled to allow a rendezvous south of Florida. From the rendezvous point the passenger-carrying aircraft will descend to minimum altitude and go directly into an auxiliary field at Eglin AFB where arrangements will have been made to evacuate the passengers and return the aircraft to its original status. The drone aircraft meanwhile will continue to fly the filed flight plan. When over Cuba the drone will be transmitting on the international distress frequency a "MAY DAY" message stating he is under attack by Cuban MIG aircraft. The transmission will be interrupted by destruction of the aircraft which will be triggered by radio signal.

Remember that government and military leaders think of world politics like a chess game. Sometimes you have to sacrifice your own pieces in order to win the game. Zbigniew Brzezinski, former U.S.

National Security Advisor and co-founder of the Trilateral Commission, titled his 1997 book The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives. In this seminal book on American foreign policy, Brzezinksi states that because of popular resistance to U.S. military expansionism, his ambitious strategy for "American global primacy" can't be implemented "except in the circumstance of a truly massive and widely perceived direct external threat." (The Grand Chessboard < http://www.WantToKnow.info/brzezinskigrandchessboard> , page 211).

Consider also that in September 2000, a think-tank named Project for the New American Century published a blueprint for maintaining global U.S. preeminence and shaping the international security order in line with U.S. interests. Written before the 2000 Presidential election, this revealing report was commissioned by future Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz, and Governor Jeb Bush. The report shows that even before 9/11, the Bush administration intended to take military control of Persian Gulf oil whether or not Saddam Hussein was in power. [Article on BBC website and original report both available here < http://www.wanttoknow.info/9-11cover-up10pg#pnac> ]

Considering the above information, is it beyond comprehension that tactics similar to Operation Northwoods might have been used in relation to the 9/11 attacks in order to create "a truly massive and widely perceived direct external threat?"

Could 9/11 have been the pretext upon which to build a War on Terror in order to "maintain global US preeminence?"

Might the 9/11 attacks have been allowed to happen, or even facilitated and manipulated by elements of the U.S. government and military? For what a highly decorated U.S. general had to say on how politicians and corporations manipulate the public to support war, click here < http://www.wanttoknow.info/warcoverup> .

We invite you to explore a two-page summary of easily verifiable facts with links direct to major media sources which suggest a major 9/11 cover-up by clicking here < http://www.WantToKnow.info/9-

To access three riveting documentaries which explore the above vital facts and much more, click

For additional empowering information on these and other reliable resources on the 9/11 cover-up,

"My wife and I, transfixed in front of a TV as the horror of 9/11 unfolded, watched

as the topmost, undamaged floors of the WTC South Tower started to gradually lean (rotate)

in the direction of the damage due to impact. In an instant, the rotation stopped, and that

which was rotating began to fall, as if only under the influence of gravity! The fulcrum

was no longer there. I blurted out, 'My god, they wired the building'."

- Mike Hawryluk, Professor Emeritus of Physics and former Division Chairman,

Manhattan Project

One of the most well-known secret research programs is the Manhattan Project, which eventually produced the world's first atomic bombs. The project began in 1939, and was cloaked in secrecy as physicists investigated the potential power of atomic weapons. From 1942 to 1946, Major General Leslie Groves of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers led the Manhattan Project.

The first nuclear bomb was detonated at 5:30 a.m. on July 16, 1945, during the so-called Trinity test at the Alamogordo Air Base, 120 miles (193 km) south of Albuquerque, N.M. The explosion created a mushroom cloud that stretched 40,000 feet (12,200 m), and the bomb's explosive power was equivalent to more than 15,000 tons of TNT.

A month after the Trinity test, two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in the waning stages of World War II. To date, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain the only uses of nuclear weapons in war.

(6:30 a.m.) September 11, 2001: NORAD on Alert for Emergency Exercises

NORAD’s war room in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado [Source: Val Gempis] Lieutenant Colonel Dawne Deskins and other day shift employees at NORAD’s Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) in Rome, NY, start their workday. NORAD is conducting a week-long, large-scale exercise called Vigilant Guardian. [Newhouse News Service, 1/25/2002] Deskins is regional mission crew chief for the Vigilant Guardian exercise. [ABC News, 9/11/2002]
Exercise Includes Simulated Attack on the US - Vigilant Guardian is described as “an exercise that would pose an imaginary crisis to North American Air Defense outposts nationwide” as a “simulated air war” and as “an air defense exercise simulating an attack on the United States.” According to the 9/11 Commission, it “postulated a bomber attack from the former Soviet Union.” [Newhouse News Service, 1/25/2002 Filson, 2003, pp. 55 and 122 9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 458] Vigilant Guardian is described as being held annually, and is one of NORAD’s four major annual exercises. [Filson, 2003, pp. 41 Arkin, 2005, pp. 545 GlobalSecurity (.org), 4/27/2005] However, one report says it takes place semi-annually. [Aviation Week and Space Technology, 6/3/2002] Accounts by participants vary on whether 9/11 is the second, third, or fourth day of the exercise. [Code One Magazine, 1/2002 Newhouse News Service, 1/25/2002 Ottawa Citizen, 9/11/2002] Vigilant Guardian is a command post exercise (CPX), and in at least some previous years was conducted in conjunction with Stratcom’s Global Guardian exercise and a US Space Command exercise called Apollo Guardian. [US Congress, n.d. Arkin, 2005, pp. 545 GlobalSecurity (.org), 4/27/2005] All of NORAD is participating in Vigilant Guardian on 9/11. [Aviation Week and Space Technology, 6/3/2002]
Exercise Includes Simulated Hijacking - Vanity Fair reports that the “day’s exercise” (presumably Vigilant Guardian) is “designed to run a range of scenarios, including a ‘traditional’ simulated hijack in which politically motivated perpetrators commandeer an aircraft, land on a Cuba-like island, and seek asylum.” [Vanity Fair, 8/1/2006] However, at NEADS, most of the dozen or so staff on the operations floor have no idea what the exercise is going to entail and are ready for anything. [Utica Observer-Dispatch, 8/5/2004]
NORAD Fully Staffed and Alert - NORAD is currently running a real-world operation named Operation Northern Vigilance (see September 9, 2001). It may also be conducting a field training exercise calling Amalgam Warrior on this morning (see 9:28 a.m. September 11, 2001). NORAD is thus fully staffed and alert, and senior officers are manning stations throughout the US. The entire chain of command will be in place and ready when the first hijacking is reported. An article later says, “In retrospect, the exercise would prove to be a serendipitous enabler of a rapid military response to terrorist attacks on September 11.” [Aviation Week and Space Technology, 6/3/2002 Bergen Record, 12/5/2003] Colonel Robert Marr, in charge of NEADS, will say: “We had the fighters with a little more gas on board. A few more weapons on board.” [ABC News, 9/11/2002] However, Deskins and other NORAD officials later are initially confused about whether the 9/11 attacks are real or part of the exercise (see (8:38 a.m.-8:43 a.m.) September 11, 2001).